Paweł Jasienica was the pen name of Leon Lech Beynar (10 November 1909 – 19 August 1970), a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

historian, journalist, essayist and soldier. During World War II, Jasienica (then, Leon Beynar) fought in the Polish Army, and later, the Home Army resistance. Near the end of the war, he was also working with the

anti-Soviet resistance Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

, which later led to him taking up a new name, Paweł Jasienica, to hide from the communist government of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. He was associated with the '' Tygodnik Powszechny'' weekly and several other newspapers and magazines. He is best known for his 1960s books on Polish historyon the Kingdom of Poland under the

Piast Dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

, the Jagiellon Dynasty, and the elected kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Those books, still popular, played an important role in popularizing Polish history among several generations of readers. Jasienica became an outspoken critic of the

censorship in the People's Republic of Poland Censorship in Polish People's Republic, Communist Poland was primarily performed by the Polish ' (''Główny Urząd Kontroli Prasy, Publikacji i Widowisk''), a governmental institution created in 1946 by the pro-Soviet Provisional Government of Nat ...

, and as a notable dissident, he was persecuted by the government. He was subject to significant invigilation (oversight) by the security services, and his second wife was in fact an agent of the communist secret police. For a brief period marking the end of his life, his books were prohibited from being distributed or printed.

Life

Youth

Beynar was born on 10 November 1909 in

Simbirsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), w ...

, Russia, to Polish parents, Mikołaj Beynar and Helena Maliszewska. His paternal grandfather, Ludwik Beynar, fought in the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

and married a Spanish woman, Joanna Adela Feugas. His maternal grandfather, Wiktor Maliszewski, fought in the

November uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. Both of his grandfathers eventually settled in the Russian Empire. His father, Mikołaj, worked as an agronomist. Beynar's family lived in Russia and Ukrainethey moved from Simbirsk to a location near

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( uk, Бі́ла Це́рква ; ) is a city in the center of Ukraine, the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (after Kyiv, which is the administrative center, but not part of the oblast), and part of the Right Bank. It serves as the admi ...

and Uman, then to Kyiv until the Russian Revolution of 1917, after which they decided to settle in the independent Poland. After brief stay in Warsaw, during the Polish–Soviet War, his family settled in Opatów, and in 1924, moved to

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

. Beynar graduated from '' gymnasium'' (secondary school) in Wilno (Vilnius) and graduated in history from

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in Wilno (his thesis concerned the January Uprising). At the university he was an active member of several organizations including ''Klub Intelektualistów'' (Intellectuals' Club) and ''Akademicki Klub Włóczęgów'' (Academic Club of Vagabonds). After graduating, he finished training for the officer cadet (''podchorąży'') in the Polish Army. From 1928 to 1937 he lived in Grodno, where he worked as a history teacher in a gymnasium; later he was employed as an announcer for

Polish Radio Wilno Polish Radio Wilno ( pl, Polskie Radio Wilno) was a station of the Polish Radio, located in the city of Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania), which in the interbellum period belonged to the Second Polish Republic. Irregular daily broadcasts began on N ...

. Here also, Beynar embarked on his career as author and essayist, writing for a Vilnius conservative newspaper, ''Słowo'' (The Word). On 11 November 1934 he married Władysława Adamowicz, and in 1938 his daughter Ewa was born. In 1935 he published his first history book – about King Sigismund II Augustus, ''Zygmunt August na ziemiach dawnego Wielkiego Księstwa'' (Sigismund Augustus on the Lands of the Former Grand Duchy f Lithuania.

World War II

During World War II, Beynar was a soldier in the Polish Army, fighting the German '' Wehrmacht'' when it invaded Poland in September 1939. He commanded a platoon near Sandomierz and was eventually taken prisoner by the Germans. While in a temporary prisoner-of-war camp in Opatów, he was able to escape with the help of some old school friends from the time his family lived there in the early 1920s. He joined the Polish underground organization, "

Związek Walki Zbrojnej Związek Walki Zbrojnej (abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Struggl ...

" (Association for Armed Combat), later transformed into the "

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

" ("AK"; the Home Army), and continued the fight against the Germans. In the resistance he had the rank of lieutenant, worked in the local Wilno headquarters and was an editor of an underground newspaper "Pobudka". He was also involved in the underground teaching. In July 1944 he took part in the operation aimed at the liberation of Wilno from the Germans ( Operation Ostra Brama). In the wake of this operation, around 19–21 August, his partisan unit, like many others, was intercepted and attacked by the Soviets. He was taken prisoner; sources vary as to whether he was to be exiled to Siberia or conscripted into the Polish People's Army. Either way he escaped and rejoined AK partisans (the

Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade The Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade (also known as the ''Brigade of Death'') was a unit of the Polish anti-Nazi resistance organization Home Army, active in the Vilnius Region during World War II. The main commander of the brigade was major Zygmunt Sz ...

). For a while, he was an aide to Major

Zygmunt Szendzielarz Zygmunt Szendzielarz (12 March 1910 – 8 February 1951) was the commander of the Polish 5th Wilno Brigade of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), nom de guerre "Łupaszka". He fought against the Red Army after the end of the Second World War. Followi ...

(''Łupaszko'') and was member of the

, ''

Wolność i Niezawisłość Freedom and Independence Association ( pl, Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość, or WiN) was a Polish underground anticommunist organisation founded on September 2, 1945 and active until 1952. Political goals and realities The main purpose of it ...

'' (''WiN'', Freedom and Independence). He was promoted to the rank of captain. Wounded in August 1945, he left the Brigade before it was destroyed by the Soviets, and avoided the fate of most of its officers who were sentenced to death. While recovering from his wounds, he found shelter in the village of Jasienica.

Post-war

After recovering from his wounds in 1945, Beynar decided to leave the resistance, and instead began publishing in an independent Catholic weekly '' Tygodnik Powszechny''. It was then that he took the pen-name Jasienica (from the name of the place where he had received treatment for his injuries) in order not to endanger his wife, who was still living in Soviet-controlled Vilnius,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. Soon he became a member of the weekly's staff and then an editor. In 1948 he was arrested by the Polish secret police ( pl, Urząd Bezpieczeństwa) but after several weeks was released after the intervention of

Bolesław Piasecki Bolesław Bogdan Piasecki, alias Leon Całka, Wojciech z Królewca, Sablewski (18 February 1915 – 1 January 1979) was a Polish politician and writer. Biography In the Second Polish Republic he was one of the more prominent Polish nationa ...

from the

PAX Association The PAX Association () was a pro-communist Catholic organization created in 1947 in the People's Republic of Poland at the onset of the Stalinist period. The association published the ''Słowo Powszechne'' daily for almost fifty years between 19 ...

. In gratitude to Piasecki, thereafter he worked with PAX, leaving ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' for PAX in 1950. In 1950, he became a director of the Polish Caritas charity. Jasienica became a member of the

Crooked Circle Club The Crooked Circle Club ( pl, Klub Krzywego Koła) was a discussion club for young intelligentsia in Poland. It was founded in 1955, the first meeting taking place in an apartment on Crooked Circle Street in Warsaw. It had connections with the ''Po ...

, which espoused free speech and open discussion. His essays were published in ''

Dziś i Jutro ''Dziś i Jutro'' (Polish: ''Today and Tomorrow'') was a Catholic weekly illustrated magazine which was published between 1945 and 1956 in Warsaw, Poland. It was one of the publications supported by the ruling Communist Party. History and profil ...

'', ''

Słowo Powszechne The PAX Association () was a pro- communist Catholic organization created in 1947 in the People's Republic of Poland at the onset of the Stalinist period. The association published the ''Słowo Powszechne'' daily for almost fifty years between ...

'', '' Życie Warszawy'', '' Po Prostu''. From at least this period until his death he would live in Warsaw. His wife Władysława died 29 March 1965. Over time, he became increasingly involved in various dissident organizations. In December 1959, he became a vice president of the Union of Polish Writers (''Związek Literatów Polskich'', ZLP). He also published in the magazine '' Świat'' (1951–1969). In 1962 he was the last president of the literary discussion society,

. In 1966 he was a vice president of the

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

. While in the late 1940s and 1950s he focused mostly on journalistic activity, later he turned to writing popular history in book format. In the 1960s he wrote his most famous works, historical books about history of Poland – the Kingdom of Poland in the times of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

, the Jagiellonian dynasty, and the era of elected kings (the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). His book on Jagiellonian Poland was recognized as the best book of the year by the readers. Jasienica was, however, very outspoken in his criticism of the

. On 29 February 1968 during a ZLP meeting, Jasienia presented a harsh critique of the government. These acts, and in particular his signing of the dissident Letter of 34 in 1964 against censorship and his involvement in the

1968 protests The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies. In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...

led to his being labeled a political dissident, for which he suffered government persecution. Partly as a response to government's persecution of Jasienica, in 1968 the satirist

Janusz Szpotański Janusz Szpotański, (pen names Władysław Gnomacki, Aleksander Oniegow; 12 January 1929 in Warsaw – 13 October 2001 in Warsaw), was a Polish poet, satirist, critic, translator, literary theorist and chess player (a three times chess champion of ...

dedicated one of his anti-government poems, ''Ballada o Łupaszce'' (The Ballad of Łupaszko), written while Szpotański was in Mokotów Prison, to the writer. In the aftermath of the 1968 events, Polish communist media, and communist leader, Władysław Gomułka, on 19 March 1968, alleged that in 1948 Jasienica was freed because he collaborated with the communist regime; this allegation caused much controversy and damaged Jasienica's reputation. He was subject to much invigilation (oversight) by the security services. In December 1969, five years after his first wife's death, he remarried. This marriage proved to be highly controversial as it was discovered after his death that his second wife, Zofia Darowska O’Bretenny, had been a secret police informant before their marriage, and continued to write reports about him throughout their marriage. From 1968 until his death, his books were prohibited from being distributed or printed. Jasienica died from cancer on 19 August 1970 in Warsaw. Some publicists later speculated to what extent his death was caused by "hounding from the party establishment". He is buried in Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery. His funeral was attended by many dissidents and became a political manifestation; Adam Michnik recalls seeing

Antoni Słonimski Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...

Stefan Kisielewski Stefan Kisielewski (7 March 1911 in Warsaw – 27 September 1991 in Warsaw, Poland), nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one ...

Stanisław Stomma Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

Jerzy Andrzejewski Jerzy Andrzejewski (; 19 August 1909 – 19 April 1983) was a prolific Polish writer. His works confront controversial moral issues such as betrayal, the Jews and Auschwitz in the wartime. His novels, ''Ashes and Diamonds'' (about the immediate ...

Jan Józef Lipski Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected w ...

and Władysław Bartoszewski. Bohdan Cywiński read a letter from Antoni Gołubiew.

Work

Jasienica book publishing begun with a historical book, ''Zygmunt August na ziemiach dawnego Wielkiego Księstwa'' (Sigismund Augustus in the lands of the former Grand Duchy; 1935). He is best known for his highly acclaimed and popular historical books from the 1960s about Piast Poland,

Jagiellon Poland The rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland between 1386 and 1572 spans the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period in European history. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) founded the dynasty; his marriage ...

and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: ''Polska Piastów'' (Piast Poland, 1960), ''Polska Jagiellonów'' (Jagiellon Poland, 1963) and the trilogy ''Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów'' (The Commonwealth of Both Nations, 1967–1972). This trilogy made him one of the most popular Polish history writers. Throughout his life he avoided writing about

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

, to minimize the influence that the official, communist

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

historiography would have on his works. This was also one of the reasons for the popularity of his works, which were seen as a rare, legally obtainable alternative to the official version of history. His books, publication of which resumed once again after his death, were labeled as "best-selling", and became the most reprinted postwar history of Poland. His (Two ways, 1959) about the

of the 1860s represent the latest historical period he has tackled. His other popular historical books include , (Three chroniclers; 1964), a book about three medieval chroniclers of Polish history ( Thietmar of Merseburg, Gallus Anonymus and

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...

), in which he discusses the Polish society through ages; and (Last of the Family; 1965) about the last queen of the Jagiellon dynasty,

Anna Jagiellonka Anna Jagiellon ( pl, Anna Jagiellonka, lt, Ona Jogailaitė; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bona ...

. His (1978; Thoughts on Civil War) were the last book he has finished; unlike the majority of his other works, this book is ostensibly about the civil war ( Chouannerie) in Brittany, France. This work does however contains numerous arguments applicable to more modern Polish history; arguments that Jasienica thought would not be allowed by the censors if the book discussed Polish history. In addition to historical books, Jasienica, wrote a series of essays about archeology – (Slavic genealogy; 1961) and (Archeological excerpts: reports; 1956), journalistic travel reports () and science and technology (). Those works were mostly created around the 1950s and 1960s. His (Memoirs) was the work that he began shortly before his death, and that was never completely finished. In 2006, Polish journalist and former dissident Adam Michnik said that: Polish historian Henryk Samsonowicz echoes Michnik's essay in his introduction to a recent (2008) edition of ''Trzej kronikarze'', describing Jasienica as a person who did much to popularize Polish history. Hungarian historian Balázs Trencsényi notes that "Jasienica's impact of the formation of the popular interpretation of Polish history is hard to overestimate". British historian

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...

, himself an author of a popular account of Polish history ('' God's Playground''), notes that Jasienica, while more of "a historical writer than an academic historian", had "formidable talents", gained "much popularity" and that his works would find no equals in the time of communist Poland. Samsonowicz notes that Jasienica "was a brave writer", going against prevailing system, and willing to propose new hypotheses and reinterpret history in innovative ways. Michnik notes how Jasienica was willing to write about Polish mistakes, for example in the treatment of

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. Ukrainian historian Stephen Velychenko also positively commented on Jasienica's extensive coverage of the Polish-Ukrainian history. Both Michnik and Samsonowicz note how Jasienica's works contain hidden messages in which Jasienica discusses more contemporary history, such as in his ''Rozważania...''.

Bibliography

Several of Jasienica's books have been translated into English by Alexander Jordan and published by the American Institute of Polish Culture, based in Miami, Florida. * (Sigismund Augustus on the lands of the former Grand Duchy; 1935) * (North-eastern lands of the Commonwealth during the Sas dynasty; 1939) * (Vistula will say farewell to gentry's province; 1951) * (Dawn of the Slavic tomorrow; 1952) * (White front, 1953) * (Tales of living matter; 1954) * (Moored; 1955) * (It's about Poland; 1956) * (Archeological excerpts: reports; 1956; latest Polish edition 2009; ) * (Traces of battles; 1957; latest Polish edition 2009; ) * (Country at Yangtze; 1957; latest Polish edition from 2008 uses the ''Kraj na Jangcy'' title; ) * (Two ways; 1959; latest Polish edition 2009; ) * (Thoughts about Old Poland; 1960; latest Polish edition 1990; ) * (1960; latest Polish edition 2007; ), translated as ''Piast Poland'' (1985; ) * (Slavic genealogy; 1961, latest Polish edition 2008; ) * (Only about History; 1962, latest Polish edition 2009; ) * (1963; latest Polish edition 2007; ), translated as ''Jagiellonian Poland'' (1978; ) * (Three chroniclers; 1964; latest Polish edition 2008; ) * (Last of the Family; 1965; latest Polish edition 2009; ) * (1967–1972), translated as ''The Commonwealth of Both Nations''; 1987, ), often published in three separate volumes: ** (1967; latest Polish edition 2007; ), translated as The Commonwealth of Both Nations I: The Silver Age'' (1992; ) ** (1967; latest Polish edition 2007; )), translated as The Commonwealth of Both Nations II: Calamity of the Realm'' (1992; ) ** (1972; latest Polish edition 2007; ), translated as The Commonwealth of Both Nations III: A Tale of Agony'' (1992; ) * (Thoughts on Civil War; 1978; latest Polish edition 2008) * (Diary; 1985; latest Polish edition 2007; ) * (Polish Anarchy; 1988; latest Polish edition 2008; )

Awards

:Medals: * Order of Polonia Restituta, Grand Cross, awarded on 3 May 2007 (posthumously) Samsonowicz, Henry
''Wstęp''
in Paweł Jasienica, ''Trzej kronikarze'', 2008 edition * Order of Polonia Restituta, Knight's Cross, awarded on 22 July 1956 * Cross of Valour, awarded by the Wilno Region Headquarters of Home Army in 1944, confirmed by

Polish Ministry of Defense Ministry of National Defense (Polish: ''Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, MON'') is the office of government in Poland under the Minister of National Defense. It is responsible for the organization and management of the Polish Armed Forces. During ...

in 1967 *

Home Army Cross The Cross of the Home Army ( pl, Krzyż Armii Krajowej) is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and ...

, awarded in 1967 in London :Awards: *2007 laureate of Poland's "Custodian of National Memory" Prize.Rok 2007 – Uroczystość wręczenia Nagrody Kustosz Pamięci Narodowej
ipn.gov.pl. Retrieved 18 April 2011.